s 

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Some  Facts  Concern!  ^ 
York  State  College 
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3M    705 


AGRIC,  DEPT, 


Some  Facts  Concerning 
The   New  York   State 

College  of  Agriculture 

At  Cornell  University 
Ithaca,  N.  Y. 


By  H.  J.  WEBBER 
Acting  Director 


A6R1CUU 

LIBRARY, 
IBNIVERSm 


CALIFORNIA 

Some  Facts  Concerning 

The  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture 

At  Cornell  University 


By  H.  J.  WEBBER 
Acting  Director 


PRESENTED  TO  A  HEARING  OF  LEGISLATIVE  COMMITTEES, 
ALBANY,  APRIL  5,  1910. 


ITHACA,  N.  Y.,  MARCH,  1910 

ITHACA  JOURNAL  PRINT 


INTRODUCTION. 

Agriculture  in  the  United  States  is  advancing  rapidly,  and  no- 
where is  there  manifest  more  activity  or  more  wide-spread  interest  than 
in  New  York.  This  general  activity  is  doubtless  due  largely  to  in- 
creased cost  of  living  and  better  returns  from  farm  products.  Farm 
lands  in  the  state  are  increasing  in  value  and  there  is  every  evidence 
that  we  are  entering  a  period  of  great  agricultural  development  and 
prosperity.  While  New  York  is  perhaps  not  so  wholly  dependent  on  its 
agricultural  interests  as  some  of  the  western  and  southern  states,  still 
it  ranks  fourth  among  the  states  in  the  value  of  its  agricultural 
products,  having  a  total  value  in  1899,  the  last  census  year,  of  $245,- 
270,600.  Agriculture  will  always  be  the  principal  industry  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  state  and  the  foundation  of  its  prosperity. 

With  the  renewed  interest  in  agriculture,  increasing  demands  are 
being  made  on  the  educational  institutions  of  the  state  to  provide 
training  in  agricultural  subjects.  Farmers  want  their  sons  and  daugh- 
ters to  take  up  farming  as  their  life  work  fitly  prepared  for  it.  Farm- 
ers themselves  are  demanding  training  in  advanced  scientific  methods. 
City  men  and  boys  in  ever  increasing  numbers  desire  to  go  on  farms 
and  are  looking  for  places  to  secure  the  necessary  training.  The  state 
has  adopted  the  policy  of  providing  institutions  where  such  education 
can  be  obtained,  having  established  a  college  of  agriculture  and  three 
special  schools  of  agriculture,  besides  having  begun  the  introduction  of 
agricultural  studies  into  the  common  schools  and  high  schools.  The 
state  is  now  facing  the  question  as  to  whether  it  will  develop  its  existing 
institutions  to  meet  their  immediate  demands,  or  whether  the  progress 
shall  be  arrested.  The  leadership  in  this  forward  movement  should 
rest  with  the  State  College  of  Agriculture.  It  must  dispense  informa- 
tion and  rouse  the  people  by  putting  before  them  better  methods  and 
higher  purposes.  It  must  find  new  truth  and  carry  the  discoveries  of 
investigators  to  the  people  on  the  farms.  It  -must  train  teachers  for 
the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  secondary  and  high  schools.  Its  work 
must  be  constructive  and  it  must  point  the  way. 

The  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture  at  Cornell  University, 
through  its  investigations  and  bulletins,  its  lectures  and  demonstrations 
with  farmers,  and  its  large  number  of  students  receiving  instruction,  is 


rendering  its  best  service  to  the  people  of  the  State.  If  it  has  not  met 
all  expectations,  it  is  largely  because  its  facilities  have  been  almost 
trivial  as  compared  with  the  work  it  has  been  expected  to  do.  The  de- 
mands that  come  to  the  College  from  the  folks  on  the  farms  and  in  the 
rural  schools  are  far  and  away  beyond  the  facilities  for  meeting  them. 
The  capacity  of  the  College  for  effective  resident  teaching  is  taxed  much 
beyond  its  limits  this  year  in  caring  for  the  968  students;  and  the- 
student  body  is  increasing  at  the  rate  of  150  students  per  year.  The- 
mere  increase  in  number  of  students  makes  demands  on  teachers  and 
equipment  that  few  persons  understand.  It  is  not  merely  a  question 
of  finding  a  place  where  students  may  sit,  but  desks,  microscopes, 
special  apparatus,  animals,  library  facilities,  and  the  like. 

The  work  of  the  College  is  for  the  people.  It  is  the  people  of  the 
State  that  make  the  demands  and  the  College  looks  to  the  people  for 
its  support.  To  carry  forward  the  work  which  is  being  crowded  upon 
the  College  in  greater  volume  and  with  greater  persistency  each  year,. 
greatly  enlarged  facilities  must  be  provided. 

Bills  are  now  before  the  Legislature  of  the  State  providing  for  the 
further  buildings  needed  immediately,  and  for  the  increased  main- 
tenance which  must  come  if  the  College  is  to  meet  the  demands  of  the- 
state  work.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  circular  to  state  certain  facts  re- 
garding the  College  which  the  people  of  the  state  should  know. 

Regarding  the  work  of  the  College,  Dean  Bailey  stated  during  the 
3909  Farmers'  Week:  "We  are  conducting  reading-courses  with  les& 
than  16,000  farmers  and  farmers'  wives  in  New  York,  yet  there  are  a 
half  million  such  in  the  State.  We  are  reaching  at  this  moment  less- 
than  7,000  teachers,  but  there  are  40,000  school  teachers  in  the  State- 
and  hundreds  are  being  prepared  each  year.  We  are  reaching  65,000 
children  this  year,  out  of  one  and  one-half  million  in  the  elementary  and 
liigh  schools  of  the  State.  We  are  conducting  demonstrations  or  test 
work  on  some  300  farms  out  of  the  227,000  in  the  State.  We  are  teach- 
ing one  student  for  about  every  500  farms.  In  this  College  of  Agricul- 
ture, large  as  it  has  grown  to  be,  we  yet  have  less  than  one  student  to- 
each  rural  township  in  the  State.  There  are  probably  more  farm  boys 
and  girls  in  any  one  agricultural  county  in  the  State  than  are  now  in 
this  College  of  Agriculture.  All  this  is  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
number  of  students  is  increasing  so  rapidly  that  we  cannot  properly 
keep  up  with  the  work.  The  value  of  farm  property  in  New  York  in 
the  last  census  year  was  $1,069,723,895.  The  money  appropriated  for 
maintenance  of  college  education  in  agriculture  is  about  one  sixty-sixth 
of  one  per  cent,  of  the  valuation. ' ' 


272^94 


COMPARISONS  WITH  OTHER  COLLEGES  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  buildings  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  devoted  to  purposes  of 
instruction,  for  laboratories,  class  rooms  and  offices,  cost  the  State  for 
construction  and  equipment  $340,000,  and  furnish  120,662  feet  of  floor 
space.  With  the  present  attendance  of  968  students,  this  gives  a  floor 
space  per  student  of  125  sq.  feet.  This  is  much  less  floor  space  per 
student  than  is  provided  in  any  of  the  other  State  Colleges  of  Agricul- 
ture that  rank  with  the  New  York  State  College.  As  an  illustration  of 
the  space  per  student  furnished  in  other  State  Colleges,  the  following 
may  be  given,  computed  from  statements  given  to  the  writer  on  a  recent 
visit  to  these  colleges :  Wisconsin,  208  sq.  ft. ;  Illinois,  305  sq.  ft. ;  Min- 
nesota, 223  sq.  ft. ;  Iowa,  350  sq.  ft. 

The  cost  of  the  agricultural  buildings  and  barns  in  all  of  the  insti- 
tutions mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph  exceeds  the  cost  of  those 
of  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture. 

In  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture  the  number  of  regu- 
lar long-course  students  and  post-graduate  students  exceeds  consider- 
ably that  of  any  of  the  above  institutions,  except  Illinois,  which  has 
only  a  slightly  less  number  than  New  York.  The  higher  grades  of 
students  would  naturally  be  expected  to  require  more  space  for  their 
work  than  the  lower  grades. 

The  faculty  of  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture,  now 
numbering  83  professors,  instructors  and  assistants  of  all  grades,  ex- 
clusive of  student  assistants,  stenographers  and  workmen,  is  larger  than 
that  of  any  other  institution. 

The  Empire  State  should  give  more  liberal  support  in  the  develop- 
ment of  its  State  College  of  Agriculture.  Other  Colleges  of  Agricul- 
ture are  forging  ahead,  and  if  New  York  is  to  keep  pace  with  the 
institutions  in  other  states,  and  if  it  is  to  meet  its  own  need  for  agri- 
cultural education,  greatly  increased  facilities  will  have  to  be  provided 
for  the  College  of  Agriculture,  particularly  in  buildings  for  laboratory, 
class  room,  and  experimental  work. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  COLLEGE  OF 

AGRICULTURE. 

Cornell  University  is  founded  on  the  Congressional  Land- Grant 
Act  of  1862,  and  agriculture,  therefore,  has  been  a  part  of  its  work 
from  the  beginning.  In  the  early  days  of  the  University,  the  agricul- 
tural teaching  was  given  in  a  Department  of  Agriculture.  In  1896  the 
University  was  divided  into  eight  colleges,  of  which  the  College  of 
Agriculture  was  one.  By  act  of  the  legislature,  Chapter  655  of  the 
Laws  of  1904,  approved  by  Governor  Odell,  May  9,  1904,  the  College  of 
Agriculture  was  established  as  a  State  Institution  under  the  title  of 
"The  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture  at  Cornell  University." 
This  act  carried  an  appropriation  of  $250,000  for  buildings.  An  Ad- 
ministration Act  became  a  law  by  the  signature  of  Governor  Higgins 
April  12,  1906,  and  that  year  the  Appropriation  Act  carried  a  main- 
tenance item  of  $100,000  for  the  College  of  Agriculture. 

CONTROL  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  control  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  is  vested  in  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Cornell  University.  The  State  is  represented  on  the  Board 
by  the  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly, 
the  Commissioner  of  Education,  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  ex- 
officio,  and  by  five  members  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  people  are 
further  represented  by  the  President  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society 
and  by  a  Trustee  appointed  by  the  State  Grange.  Ten  members  of  the 
Board  are  elected  by  the  alumni.  The  fifteen  remaining  elective  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  are  chosen  by  the  Board  itself.  It  will  be  seen  from 
the  above  statement  that  the  State  now  has  equal  control  with  the 
alumni  in  the  government  of  the  University  and  thus  of  the  College  of 
Agriculture. 

HOW  THE  COLLEGE  SERVES  THE  STATE. 

The  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture  is  endeavoring  to  serve 
the  agricultural  interests  of  the  State  by  the  following  means.  All 
courses  in  the  College  are  free  of  tuition  to  residents  of  the  State : 

INSTRUCTION   AT   THE    COLLEGE. 

The  Four-Tear  Course  in  Agriculture. — This  course  is  of  equal 

5 


academic  rank  with  other  courses  in  Cornell  University  and  leads  to  the 
degree  B.  S.  in  Agriculture.  It  offers  a  thorough  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical training  in  agricultural  and  country-life  subjects.  The  equivalent 
of  a  high  school  training  is  necessary  for  admission.  The  following  sub- 
jects are  offered  in  the  college: — Botany,  agricultural  chemistry,  soil 
technology,  plant  physiology,  plant  breeding,  farm  crops,  farm  manage- 
ment, horticulture,  farm  mechanics,  farm  practice,  plant  pathology, 
general  biology,  entomology  and  general  invertebrate  zoology,  animal 
husbandry,  poultry  husbandry,  dairy  industry,  rural  economy,  drawing, 
rural  art,  home  economics,  meteorology,  extension,  and  nature-study. 

Rural  Art  Course,  comprising  the  junior  and  senior  years  in  the 
four-year  course,  providing  instruction  in  landscape  gardening  and  re- 
lated subjects. 

Home  Economics  Course,  comprising  the  junior  and  senior  years  in 
the  four-year  course,  with  facilities  for  practical  work. 

Nature-Study  Special  Course. — For  those  who  desire  to  prepare 
themselves  to  teach  elementary  agriculture  and  nature-study.  Open  to 
teachers  or  students  in  the  University  who  are  fitting  themselves  for 
teaching.  Two  years. 

Special  Work  in  Agriculture. — For  those  who  are  unable  to  take  the 
full  four-year  course.  There  is  no  examination  for  admission,  but  the 
students  must  have  finished  satisfactorily  the  common  school  studies. 
Special  students  take  those  studies  which  will  be  most  valuable  to  them 
in  the  various  departments,  and  which  they  are  qualified  to  pursue. 
This  work  is  designed  especially  for  those  who  wish  to  fit  /  themselves 
for  successful  farming,  but  who  cannot  take  a  four-year  course.  About 
two  years  can  be  profitably  spent  in  such  work.  The  applicant  must 
present  full  credentials  and  testimonials,  and  each  case  is  considered  by 
itself  on  its  merits. 

Winter-Courses,  five  in  number:  1,  General  Agriculture;  2,  Dairy 
Industry ;  3,  Poultry  Husbandry ;  4,  Horticulture ;  5,  Home  Economics. 

These  courses  are  for  12  weeks,  beginning  the  first  week  in  Decem- 
ber and  closing  the  last  week  in  February.  Non-residents  of  the  State 
pay  a  tuition  fee  of  $25. 

Scholarships  and  Fellowships  in  Agriculture. — For  Regular  and 
Special  Students.  The  Roberts  Scholarships  are  five  in  number,  for 
students  who  show  ability,  tact  and  application,  who  are  of  good  moral 
character,  who  are  in  need  of  financial  assistance,  and  especially  for 
those  from  rural  districts.  No  examination  is  required  and  the  value  of 

6 


•each  is  $240.     A  fellowship  worth  $500  is  awarded  to  the  College  of 
Agriculture  and  the  Veterinary  College  combined. 

For  Winter-Course  Students. — Twelve  scholarships  are  given  each 
year  by  the  New  York  State  Grange..  Value  $50  each.  Given  only  to 
Grange  members,  and  to  the  twelve  who  attain  the  highest  average  in  a 
competitive  examination. 

Mr.  H.  L.  Beatty  has  offered  for  the  year  1909-1910  a  scholarship 
of  $75  in  value,  "open  to  any  farmer  residing  in  Bainbridge,  or  to  any 
boy  over  16,  residing  in  Bainbridge,  who  shall  have  attended  the  Bain- 
bridge  High  School  for  one  full  term." 

INSTRUCTION   IN   THE   STATE. 

Farmers'  Reading-Course. — For  those  who  are  unable  to  leave  their 
work  but  desire  to  learn.  Practical  bulletins  on  agricultural  subjects  are 
periodically  sent  to  the  reader  and  correspondence  is  encouraged.  These 
courses  discuss :  1,  Soils  and  Crops ;  2,  Stock  Feeding ;  3,  Orcharding ;  4, 
Poultry ;  5,  Dairying ;  6,  Buildings  and  Yards ;  7,  Helps  for  Heading ; 
8,  Miscellaneous;  9,  Breeding;  10,  Horse  Production.  Free  to  persons 
residing  in  New  York.  Forty-seven  such  bulletins  have  been  issued, 
averaging  about  18  pages  each,  and  these  go  regularly  to  about  5,000 
readers. 

Farmers'  Wives'  Reading-Course. — These  are  popular  bulletins 
discussing  household  economy,  cooking,  home  furnishing,  sanitation, 
and  the  like.  They  are  used  especially  in  connection  with  a  reading- 
course  conducted  by  correspondence.  Thirty-four  such  bulletins  have 
now  been  issued,  having  an  average  of  about  24  pages  each.  These  go 
regularly  to  about  15,000  readers. 

Nature-Study. — Extension  work  is  conducted  for  teachers  and 
pupils  particularly  in  the  rural  schools.  One  publication  is  issued  in 
the  interests  of  the  work, — the  Home  Nature- Study  Course,  quarterly, 
following  the  State  Syllabus.  The  readers  of  this  course  now  number 
5,341. 

Rural  School  Education. — Farm  Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs  are  organ- 
ized and  directed  in  connection  with  the  work  in  rural  schools.  One 
publication  is  issued  in  the  interest  of  this  work, — the  Cornell  Rural 
School  Leaflet,  monthly,  for  pupils,  and  a  Supplement  for  teachers. 
'Twenty-seven  publications  have  been  issued  in  this  series,  averaging 
about  18  pages  each.  These  go  to  about  65,000  children  and  6,000 
teachers. 


Co-operative  Experiments  in  Agriculture. — The  college  co-operates 
with  farmers  in  making  experiments  on  their  land  that  will  be  of  direct 
practical  value  to  them.  The  organizations  that  are  now  co-operating 
with  the  college  are:  The  New  York  State  Experimenters'  League;  The 
New  York  State  Drainage  Association;  The  New  York  State  Plant- 
Breeders'  Association,  and  The  Housekeepers'  Conference. 

Special  Lectures. — Lectures  are  given,  upon  request,  by  members 
of  the  College  Faculty  at  such  times  and  places  as  can  be  arranged,  be- 
fore Granges,  Farmers'  Keading-Course  Clubs,  Farmers'  Institutes  and 
other  Agricultural  Societies,  Schools  and  Public  Assemblies. 

State  and  County  Fair  Exhibits. — The  College,  through  an  Educa- 
tional Exhibit  and  Information  Bureau,  co-operates  with  the  State  Fair 
each  year,  and  with  as  many  County  Fairs  as  practicable. 

Special  Farm  Trains. — Occasionally  a  ' '  Farm  Special ' '  train  is  run 
through  a  certain  section  of  the  State,  and  stops  are  made  at  previously 
scheduled  and  announced  places,  where  discussions  are  held.  Three  such 
trains  have  already  been  run,  and  others  are  now  under  consideration. 

Farmers'  Week. — This  is  a  week  for  the  gathering  of  farmers  and 
farmers'  wives  at  the  College.  Lectures  and  demonstrations  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Faculty,  by  successful  farmers,  specialists  and  others  who 
have  achieved  distinction  in  agriculture  are  given  throughout  the  week. 
The  museums  of  the  College  and  the  University  are  opened,  and  the 
various  departments  prepare  special  educational  exhibits.  The  Agri- 
cultural Experimenters'  League,  the  New  York  State  Plant  Breeders' 
Association,  the  State  Drainage  Association,  and  various  other  agricul- 
tural societies  hold  meetings  here  at  this  time.  The  attendance  during 
these  Farmers'  Weeks  has  ranged  from  1500  to  2800. 

Excursions. — A  large  number  of  Granges,  Farmers'  Clubs,  and 
other  organizations  come  to  the  College  during  the  warm  months  of  the 
year.  Meeting  places  and  other  facilities  are  provided  for  such  agricul- 
tural organizations  which  may  wish  to  meet  at  the  College,  and  aid  is 
given  by  furnishing  speakers  and  demonstrations  to  make  the  meetings 
profitable. 

Bureau  of  Information. — Questions  pertaining  to  farm  problems 
are  referred  to  various  Departments  of  the  College  for  answer.  In  this 
way  much  information  is  given  in  a  very  direct  and  special  way.  About 
40,000  such  communications  have  been  answered  in  the  past  year. 

The  Experiment  Station. — The  staff  of  the  Experiment  Station  is 
endeavoring  to  solve  some  of  the  more  pressing  agricultural  problems 

8 


of  the  State.  The  results  of  this  work  are  published  in  the  form  of 
bulletins  which  are  sent  free  to  residents  of  New  York  State. 

Up  to  the  present  time  there  has  been  issued  from  the  Experiment 
Station  273  different  bulletins,  giving  the  results  of  experiments  and 
observations.  These  had  an  average  of  about  24  pages  each.  The  num- 
ber of  copies  published  of  each  bulletin  ranges  from  3,000  to  30,000. 

Short  circulars  on  agricultural  topics,  varying  in  length  from  four 
to  eight  pages  and  in  editions  from  3,000  to  10,000  copies,  are  also  is- 
sued from  time  to  time. 

The  size  of  the  editions  and  the  number  of  readers  in  each  of  the 
series  of  publications  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  by  no  means  indicate 
the  interest  manifested  by  the  people  of  the  State  in  these  publications. 
It  is  necessary  in  all  cases  to  revise  and  reduce  the  mailing  list  each 
year.  In  the  Reading- Course  for  Farmers,  the  publications  are  sent 
only  to  those  returning  the  question  blank  that  goes  out  with  each  pub- 
lication. For  the  Rural  School  Leaflets  the  mailing  list  is  made  up 
entirely  new  each  year  from  direct  requests,  yet  quickly  again  reaches 
the  65,000  to  75,000  limit. 

Tt  is  believed  that  it  is  not  too  high  an  ideal  to  expect  that  at  least 
one  of  the  bulletins  illustrating  the  investigations  of  the  College  should 
go  into  each  home  in  the  State  interested  in  agriculture  at  least  once  a 
year,  yet  this  ideal  is  nowhere  near  accomplishment,  and  the  funds 
available  for  publication  will  not  permit  such  a  distribution.  With  few 
exceptions  the  editions  of  bulletins  in  all  of  these  classes  are  too  small 
to  meet  the  demands  and  are  soon  exhausted;  the  available  funds  will 
not  admit  of  larger  editions. 

STUDENTS  IN  THE  COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 

The  number  of  students  attending  the  College  of  Agriculture  has 
increased  very  rapidly  in  recent  years.  During  the  first  twenty  years, 
from  1868  to  1887,  the  total  number  of  students  in  any  year  did  not 
exceed  fifty  in  number.  In  the  year  1892-3  the  short  winter-course  was 
added,  and  the  total  number  of  students  reached  103.  There  followed 
a  gradual  increase  until  in  the  year  1903-4  the  total  registration  reached 
296.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  1904  the  College  became  a  State  institu- 
tion, and  an  appropriation  granted  for  the  erection  of  buildings.  As  a 
result  the  registration  for  the  succeeding  year,  1904-5,  advanced  to  418. 
From  that  time  the  increase  has  been  constant,  and  in  the  five-year 
period  since,  the  registration  has  more  than  doubled,  being  this  year  a 
total  of  968  students  of  all  grades.  This  increase  is  graphically  illus- 
trated in  the  accompanying  chart. 


CHART  SHOWING  INCREASE  IN  ATTENDANCE  FROM  YEAR  1876-7  TO  1909-10. 


By  School    Y, 


The  registration  of  various  grades  of  students  since  the  College  be- 
came a  State  institution  is  shown  in  the  following  table : 

REGISTRATION  OF  STUDENTS  FOR  LAST   SIX  YEARS. 

1 1 

1904-5 

Regulars 98 

Specials 90 

Post-Graduates   ..       31 
Winter-Course   .        199 


1905-6 

1906-7 

1907-8 

1908-9 

1909-10 

129 

145 

209 

272 

419 

95 

124 

138 

144 

120 

40 

36 

43 

58 

58 

253 

244 

270 

364 

371 

Totals  .  418 


517 


549 


660 


838 


968 


The  registration  of  Winter-course  students  in  1909-10  would  have 
been  considerably  larger  had  it  not  been  found  necessary  to  limit  the 
registration. 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  FROM  NEW  YORK  STATE. 

It  has  been  stated  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  students  of  the 
College  of  Agriculture  come  from  foreign  countries  and  other  states.  A 
correct  idea  of  the  distribution  can  be  obtained  from  the  following 
table : 


10 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  STUDENTS 

Students  1907-8  1908-9  1909-10 

From  New  York 474  610  706 

From  other  states 146  188  213 

From  foreign  countries 40  40  49 


660          838          968 

It  will  be  seen  from  an  examination  of  the  above  table  that  for  the 
last  three  years  72.6  per  cent,  of  the  students  have  come  from  the  State 
of  New  York.  It  is  important  that  the  significance  of  out-of-state  stu- 
dents be  not  incorrectly  estimated.  The  number  of  out-of-state  students 
is  one  indication  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  work  of  the  New  York  State 
College  of  Agriculture  is  held ;  and  one  of  the  most  valuable  features  of 
a  large  institution  with  a  cosmopolitan  student  body  is  the  contact  with 
persons  from  other  states  and  other  countries  with  different  ideals, 
practices  and  customs. 

Moreover,  a  part  of  the  support  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  is 
provided  from  Cornell  University  funds,  and  the  University  does  not 
confine  its  activities  to  the  State.  No  State  College  of  Agriculture,  so 
far  as  the  writer  can  learn,  limits  its  attendance  to  residents  of  the 
state,  and  it  would  probably  be  a  mistake  to  ever  make  such  limitations. 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  FORMER  STUDENTS. 

The  statement  is  frequently  made  that  Agricultural  Colleges  edu- 
cate away  from  the  farm.  A  few  years  ago  a  tabulation  was  made  of 
the  occupations  of  former  students  so  far  as  they  could  be  learned  at 
that  time.  The  results  are  given  in  the  folio-wing  table: 


11 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  FORMER  STUDENTS  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF 

AGRICULTURE 


CO 

03 

d 

"S 

^ 

•9 

t3 

0    2 

L 

w    w 

• 

. 

'g  ce 

*"C 

S 

•  *    1-^ 

Q 

fi 

02 

a 

CO 

+2 

OQ 

OQ 

"3 

H 

^ 

-  5 

iu 

I 

CO 

^§ 

A 

^ 

.£- 

o 

« 

02 

s 

Agricultural  College  and  Experiment 
Station  Work          _     .             ___    . 

8 

26 

8 

58 

4 

15 

6 

2 

1  9,? 

U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  ._ 

2 

8 

2 

1 

2 

15 

Farmers,    Nurserymen,     Farm    Mgrs., 

etc. 

g 

4 

85 

24 

45 

46 

176 

832 

Creameries,  Cheese  Factories,  etc. 

1 

B 

156 

8 

168 

Editors 

1 

1 

1 

o, 

9, 

7 

Landscape  Architects  __        

9 

9 

Physicians 

5 

7 

8 

1 

16 

Students 

5 

78 

68 

4 

5 

160 

Miscellaneous  _    

11 

18 

11 

5 

8 

46 

Died..     

1 

1 

5 

6 

7 

5 

4 

29 

Of  the  total  number  of  living  former  students  who  were  not  at  that 
time  in  school  and  whose  occupation  could  be  learned,  71  per  cent,  were 
in  some  form  of  farm  work,  20  per  cent,  were  in  some  form  of  agricul- 
tural education  work,  or  a  total  of  91  per  cent,  were  either  farming  or 
pursuing  some  line  of  work  directly  allied  to  agriculture.  Certainly  it 
cannot  be  maintained  that  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture 
educates  away  from  the  farm.  Moreover,  the  tendency  toward  the  farm 
is  strongly  increased.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  any  other  type  of 
professional  or  technical  college  could  show  a  larger  percentage  of 
graduates  and  former  students  who  are  following  the  profession  for 
which  they  prepared. 

All  of  our  agricultural  colleges,  particularly  those  connected  with 
Universities,  are  influencing  a  very  large  percentage  of  their  students  to 
pursue  practical  agricultural  work.  Of  the  206  graduates  of  the  Illinois 
College  of  Agriculture,  113  are  actually  on  farms  and  82  in  some  other 

12 


form  of  agricultural  work ;  95  per  cent,  are  thus  engaged  in  some  kind 
of  agricultural  work. 

VALUE  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  TO  THE  FAKMER. 

In  connection  with  the  farm  management  investigations  of  the  Col- 
lege, some  very  suggestive  evidence  has  been  secured  showing  the  money 
value  of  education  in  farming.  In  a  number  of  townships  all  of  the 
farms  were  visited  and  accurate  data  obtained  from  the  farmer  show- 
ing his  income  from  his  own  labor.  In  deriving  the  farmer's  labor  in- 
come, from  the  gross  receipts  there  were  deducted  all  expenses, 
including  those  for  labor  other  than  that  of  the  farmer  himself,  five  per 
cent,  interest  on  capital  invested  and  a  charge  for  depreciation  in 
apparatus,  tools,  etc.  Eecord  was  also  made  of  the  highest  school  the 
farmer  had  attended.  Complete  data  were  secured  from  573  men.  The 
results  were  as  follows : 

Number  of  Average  labor 
farmers  income 

Attended  district  school  only 398  $318 

Attended  high  school  or  equivalent 165  $622 

Attended  college  or  university 10  $847 

It  might  be  assumed  that  these  differences  were  due  to  the  high 
school  men  having  had  better  farm  opportunities.  To  eliminate  this 
difference,  the  farms  were  arranged  in  groups  having  equal  capital : 


Capital 

Average  labor    income  of 
farmers  with  district 
school  education 

Average  labor  income  of 
farmers  with  more  than 
district  school    educa- 
tion. 

2000  and  under 

$187 

$286 

2001      to      4000 

•241 

27--) 

4001      to      6000 

898 

466 

6001      to      8000 

395 

709 

8001      to    10000 

618 

796 

10001      to    15000 

535 

1091 

over             15000 

1054 

1272 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  in  every  group  the  men  having  the 
highest  education  made  the  best  use  of  their  capital.  From  the  first 
table  we  see  that  there  is  an  increase  of  $304  per  year  in  labor  income 
of  those  men  who  have  attended  high  schools.  Therefore  we  may  con- 
clude that  "a  high  school  education  is  Avorth  more  to  these  farmers 
than  an  endowment  of  $6,000  in  5  per  cent,  bonds." 

13 


ILLUSTRATIONS  SHOWING  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  EXPERI- 
MENTAL WORK  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  circular  to  discuss  in  any  detail  the  experi- 
mental work  of  the  College.  The  few  illustrations  given  under  this 
heading,  however,  will  indicate  the  general  nature  of  the  work  and  its 
value  to  the  agriculture  of  the  State. 

Experiments  showing  how  dairying  in  New  York  may  be  improved. 
— In  1873  the  College  of  Agriculture  owned  a  herd  of  ordinary  cows, 
the  average  yield  of  which  was  about  3000  pounds  of  milk  per  cow  per 
year.  In  this  year,  Professor  I.  P.  Roberts  purchased  a  pure-bred  bull 
and  began  to  breed  and  grade  up  the  herd,  retaining  the  best  animals 
and  constantly  " weeding  out"  the  less  productive  ones.  This  process 
has  been  steadfastly  continued  up  to  the  present  time,  with  the  result 
that  in  the  year  which  ended  August  31,  1909,  thirty-seven  cows  in  the 
herd  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  averaged  7463  pounds  of  milk  con- 
taining 302  pounds  of  fat,  and  yielding  a  gross  return  of  $120  per  cow, 
or  a  little  more  than  double  that  yielded  by  the  original  herd. 

What  this  would  mean  to  the  farmers  of  the  State  is  seen  from  the 
statement  that  in  1899  the  average  production  of  the  cows  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  as  given  in  the  United  States  Census  Reports,  was  4378 
pounds.  The  methods  employed  in  this  improvement  are  those  that  are 
within  the  means  of  any  farmer  or  dairyman.  No  expensive  animals 
have  ever  been  purchased,  and  practically  all  of  the  present  members 
of  the  herd  have  been  raised  upon  the  place.  If  all  of  the  farmers  in 
the  State  for  the  past  thirty- five  years  had  practiced  these  same  methods, 
the  annual  yield  of  the  average  cow  in  the  state  of  New  York  would 
easily  be  twice  its  present  amount. 

The  cow-testing  work  of  the  Dairy  Department  has  enabled  the 
farmer  to  know  the  total  amount  of  milk  and  butter-fat  made  by  each 
cow  in  his  herd  and  the  value  of  feed  consumed  by  each  cow.  It  has 
been  found  in  some  herds  that  certain  cows  were  not  producing  enough 
to  pay  for  their  feed,  while  other  cows  in  the  same  herd  were  producing 
a  return  of  over  $50.00  in  excess  of  the  feed  consumed.  The  informa- 
tion obtained  from  this  work  enables  the  farmer  to  dispose  of  his  poor 
cows  and  raise  the  heifer  calves  from  his  best  ones,  in  this  way  steadily 
raising  the  productive  capacity  of  his  herd.  The  data  on  which  the 
above  statement  is  based  was  obtained  from  the  records  of  twenty  herds 
containing  a  total  of  209  cows.  The  value  of  this  work  can  be  shown 
toy  the  following  illustration: 

The  average  milk  production  per  cow  in  New  York  State  is  at 

14 


present  not  far  from  4400  pounds  per  year.  This  average  might  easily 
be  raised  to  7000  pounds  per  cow  by  adopting  the  methods  used  in  cow- 
testing  work.  This  would  mean  an  average  increased  production  per 
cow  for  the  entire  state  of  2,600  pounds  per  year.  Considering  the  num- 
ber of  cows  in  the  state  to  be  1,800,000,  this  would  give  an  increased 
production  of  milk  of  4,680,000,000  pounds.  Figuring  this  at  $1.30  per 
hundred,  it  gives  an  increased  return  to  the  dairymen  of  the  State  of 
$60,840,000.00  per  year. 

Experiments  showing  how  New  York  State  butter-making  may  be 
improved. — The  results  of  the  work  in  determining  the  moisture  content 
of  butter  will  make  it  possible  for  butter-makers  to  produce  a  more  uni- 
form product  which  will  bring  a  higher  price  on  the  market,  and  also  to- 
produce  more  butter  from  a  given  amount  of  cream,  thus  giving  the 
butter-maker  and  the  milk-producer  an  increased  profit  in  two  ways. 
The  profits  of  such  work  may  be  as  great  as  indicated  by  the  following 
illustration : 

Suppose  a  creamery  receives  an  average  of  10,000  pounds  of  milk 
per  day.  The  difference  in  the  cash  returns  to  this  creamery  resulting 
from  butter  containing  14%  of  moisture  as  compared  with  butter  con- 
taining 9%  of  moisture,  is  equal  to  $6.30  per  day  or  $2,299.50  per  year. 
This  fact  was  determined  by  experiment. 

Poultry  investigations. — The  Poultry  Department  has  conducted 
experiments  which  have  shown 

(1)  That  the  practice  of  starving  hens  to  force  a  molt  results  in 
loss  instead  of  gain,  the  difference  amounting  to  25c  per  fowl  per  year 
(Bulletin  258). 

(2)  That  constitutional  vigor  is  a  vital  factor  in  the  successful 
handling  of  poultry ;  that  it  can  be  recognized  by  external  characters ; 
that  these  characters  are  hereditary  and  that  the  constitutional  vigor  of 
fowls  influences  molt,  fertility  and  hatching  power  of  eggs,  size  and 
vigor  of  chicks  and  prolificacy,  amounting  to  twelve  to  fourteen  eggs 
per  hen  per  year  and  35c  to  40c  per  year  profit  per  hen  (Reading- Course 
Bulletin  45). 

(3)  That  the  supplying  of  ground  feed  as  a  dry  mash  in  the  feed- 
hoppers  materially  reduces   the  labor,  increases   production,  decreases 
mortality,  and  increases  the  net  profits  in  the  feeding  of  fowls  (Bulletin 
249). 

(4)  That  chickens  may  be  reared  in  flocks  of  two  hundred  by  the 
use  of  a  gasoline-heated  colony-house  system,  which  reduces  the  cost  of 

15 


the  original  investment  and  decreases  the  labor  in  feeding  and  brooding 
seventy-five  per  cent.  (Bulletin  246). 

(5)  A  large  number  of  labor-saving  and  sanitary  poultry  appli- 
ances have  been  invented  and  given  to  the  public,  among  which  are 
indoor  and  outdoor  feed-hoppers,  a  combination  refrigerator  crate  for 
eggs  and  dressed  poultry,  watering  devices,  trap  nest,  etc.   (Bulletin 
248). 

(6)  Improved  types  of  poultry  houses  have  been  adapted  to  New 
York  State  conditions  as  a  result  of  experiments  with  different  types  of 
houses.     (Eeading-Course  Bulletins  16  and  33,  and  Circulars  1  and  3). 

Alfalfa  on  sterile  hill  lands. — The  College  farm  consists  largely  of 
a  heavy,  tenacious  soil  known  as  Dunkirk  clay  loam.  This  is  a  type  of 
soil  that  has  been  regarded  as  especially  unsuited  for  alfalfa- growing. 
About  1903,  a  study  was  begun  to  ascertain  whether  it  is  possible  to  grow 
alfalfa  on  this  soil,  and  if  so,  what  treatment  of  the  crop  is  necessary  to 
secure  success.  An  acre  of  land  was  fitted  and  seeded  in  the  summer  of 
1906.  Harvests  have  been  secured  from  it  during  the  three  succeeding 
seasons.  In  1907,  the  yield  from  one  acre  was  3  tons  and  1500  pounds 
of  well-cured  hay ;  in  1908,  3  tons  and  500  pounds ;  in  1909,  6  tons  and 
360  pounds, — a  total  of  13  tons  and  360  pounds  for  the  three  years. 

During  this  period  alfalfa  hay  has  varied  in  price  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-one  dollars  per  ton.  Figuring  at  the  minimum  price  per  ton,  the 
cash  value  of  the  three  seasons'  product  of  one  acre  of  land  was  $197.70. 
Since  the  season  of  seeding  there  has  been  no  labor  or  expense  for  fer- 
tilizer given  this  land  except  in  the  harvesting  of  the  crop. 

There  has  been  expended  for  labor,  lime,  manuring  and  seed  about 
fifty  dollars  per  acre.  This,  of  course,  is  a  large  expenditure  in  getting 
the  crop  started,  but  when  it  is  considered  that  no  further  expense  is  in- 
curred, except  the  harvesting,  for  a  series  of  eight  to  fifteen  years,  and 
with  fair  prospects  of  the  average  yields  as  they  have  been  in  the  past, 
it  will  be  seen  that  this  experiment  demonstrates  that  there  is  a  great 
opportunity  for  financial  success  in  growing  alfalfa  on  this  type  of  soil, 
notwithstanding  the  natural  difficulties  to  be  met. 

It  is  demonstrated  by  this  experiment  that  to  secure  successful 
alfalfa  crops  on  Dunkirk  clay  loam,  a  very  common  type  of  soil  over 
about  one-third  of  the  State,  it  is  necessary  #iat  the  land  shall  be  well 
manured  the  season  of  sowing,  dressed  with  lime  and  inoculated  by 
means  of  soil  from  an  old  alfalfa  field. 

The  use  of  lime. — Investigations  indicate  that  in  the  neighborhood 
of  75  per  cent,  of  the  farm  land  will  respond  profitably  to  the  use  of 

16 


lime.     In  many  cases,  its  use  is  fundamental  to  the  profitable  growth 
of  crops  and  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility. 

Our  investigations  have  shown  that  the  use  of  lime  by  promoting 
nitrification,  particularly  in  connection  with  a  legume,  increases  the 
nitrogenous  substance  in  both  the  legume  and  the  non-legume,  thereby 
materially  increasing  the  food  value  of  all  these  substances,  and  conse- 
quently adding  materially  to  the  value  of  the  crop. 

Better  yielding  timothy. — In  timothy-breeding  experiments  con- 
ducted by  the  Experiment  Station,  over  40,000  individual  plants  have 
been  tested  and  about  200  distinct  strains  have  been  secured.  Some  of 
the  best  of  the  select  types  have  in  our  experiments  produced  twice  the 
average  yield  of  all  the  plants  tested.  As  seed  has  been  grown  and 
tested  from  almost  every  hay-growing  section  of  the  world,  we  are  safe 
in  assuming  that  the  thousands  of  plants  which  we  have  tested  represent 
the  average  of  what  would  be  found  in  ordinary  hay  fields.  New  York 
is  the  first  state  in  the  Union  in  the  number  of  acres  of  hay  produced, 
and  in  total  production  ranks  first,  with  over  6,000,000  tons  having  a 
farm  valuation  of  about  $70,000,000.  The  average  yield  per  acre  in 
New  York  is  1.2  ton,  which  makes  it  rank  forty-fourth  among  the 
states  in  the  average  production  per  acre.  By  the  use  of  these  new 
select  strains  the  yield  of  hay  would  be  increased  at  least  one-fourth. 
The  importance  to  the  State  of  such  an  increase  will  be  clearly  apparent 
when  the  size  of  the  crop  is  considered.  Coupled  with  greater  yield, 
some  of  the  new  strains  are  resistant  to  rust  and  avoid  the  injury  which 
is  produced  by  this  serious  malady. 

Control  of  insect  pests. — The  life  history  and  habits  of  the  codling 
moth  have  been  exhaustively  investigated  and  a  definite  and  effective 
method  of  control  demonstrated  whereby  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars have  been  saved  to  the  apple-growers  of  New  York  State. 

After  a  careful  study  of  the  habits  of  the  cabbage  maggot,  a  remedy 
was  prescribed  that  still  remains  the  most  effective  one  ever  devised. 

The  pear-tree  psylla  threatened  the  extinction  of  pear-growing  in 
certain  parts  of  the  State,  but  by  a  careful  study  of  its  life  history  an 
effective  remedy  was  found  that  saved  many  orchards.  In  1892,  Mr. 
G.  T.  Powell  estimated  that  he  lost  1100  barrels  of  pears  through  the 
work  of  the  pear-tree  psylla.  Other  growers  lost  in  similar  proportions. 
The  control  of  the  psylla  saved  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  to  the 
pear-growers  of  the  State. 

The  investigation  of  wire-worms,  the  peach-tree  borer,  bud-moth, 
grape-vine  flea-beetle,  grape  root-worm,  grape-berry  moth,  pistol-case 

17 


borer,  cigar-case  borer,  apple-seed  chalcis  fly,  and  others  have  been  car- 
ried to  completion  and  helpful  methods  of  control  have  been  devised. 

In  1900  there  were  approximately  15  million  bearing  apple  trees  in 
New  York  that  produced  over  24  million  bushels  of  apples.  Spraying 
for  the  codling  moth  is  so  universal  and  so  effective  in  increasing  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  marketable  apples  that  if  we  were  so  conserva- 
tive as  to  estimate  an  increased  average  income  from  each  tree  through 
spraying  to  be  25c,  we  should  have  a  profit  of  more  than  $3,000,000 
accruing  to  New  York  apple-growers  each  year  through  the  control  of 
this  one  insect  as  a  result  of  the  application  of  the  arsenical  sprays.  The 
first  spray  calendar  ever  published  was  prepared  in  the  Department  of 
Entomology,  and  was  of  great  service  in  diffusing  exact  knowledge  of 
the  use  of  sprays  against  this  and  other  pests. 

Control  of  plant  diseases. — Very  marked  advance  has  been  made 
in  the  control  of  many  of  the  serious  diseases  which  affect  economic 
plants  in  this  state.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the  most  suggestive  of 
these  investigations : 

1st.  Black  rot  of  grapes.  Black  rot  is  the  most  serious  disease  of 
grapes  present  in  the  State.  The  grape  crop  in  the  State  is  valued  at 
$2,763,711.  It  has  been  found  that  the  key  to  the  control  of  this  disease 
is  to  spray  before  the  rains  and  not  after  rains.  The  discovery  and 
demonstration  of  this  fact  alone  is  worth  many  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  to  grape-growers  of  the  State. 

2nd.  Bean  pod  spot  has  been  a  very  serious  interruption  to  the 
bean  industry,  the  annual  crop  of  which  in  the  State  is  valued  at  $2,- 
472,668.  It  has  been  found  that  this  disease  can  be  practically  con- 
trolled by  the  hand  selection  of  pods  free  from  the  disease  for  seed  the 
next  year.  This  simple  method  will  save  the  industry  in  this  State. 

3rd.  Pear  blight.  This  disease,  which  causes  extensive  damage  to 
the  fruit  industries  of  the  State,  it  has  been  found,  can  be  practically 
controlled-  by  systematic  inspection,  removal  and  disinfection  of  dis- 
eased parts.  The  demonstration  of  this  method  of  control  will  save  the 
pear-growing  industry  of  the  State  much  money. 

4th.  Apple  scab.  The  control  of  this  disease,  which  means  so  much 
to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  apple  industry,  has  heretofore  been 
effected  by  the  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture,  which  frequently  causes  injury 
to  the  fruit.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  lime-sulphur  solution  can  be 
used  as  a  substitute  for  Bordeaux,  is  just  as  effective  in  controlling  the 
disease,  and  does  not  cause  the  fruit-injury  produced  by  Bordeaux.  It 
is  believed  that  this  discovery  alone  is  worth  more  to  the  growers  of  the 

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State  than  all  the  money  which  has  been  invested  in  the  Plant  Pathol- 
ogy investigations.  The  application  of  this  practice  will  make  possible 
a  reduction  of  one-third  the  cost  of  spraying  as  given  at  present  for 
this  disease.  It  has  been  found,  furthermore,  that  the  lime-sulphur 
solution  is  a  fairly  effective  treatment  for  peach  leaf  curl,  which  is  also 
a  serious  disease  in  the  State. 

What  is  the  value  of  agricultural  surveys? — The  Agricultural  Sur- 
veys accomplish  three  important  results: 

1.  They  show  in  detail  what  are  the  agricultural  resources  of  each 
township,  and  enable  the  College  to  supply  local  knowledge  in  such 
matters  as  soil  adaptation,  best  rotations  and  most  successful  systems  of 
management. 

Frequently  certain  profitable  practices  that  prevail  in  one  section 
might  be  introduced  to  great  advantage  in  another  section  which  has  the 
same  natural  conditions  but  where  these  practices  have  not  been  tried. 
The  drainage  of  muck  lands  and  the  growing  of  truck  crops  on  them  is 
«  very  profitable  system  of  farming.  It  is  practiced  in  only  a  few  iso- 
lated sections  of  the  State.  There  are  many  other  localities  in  which 
muck  lands  just  as  favorably  situated  may  be  found.  A  considerable 
area  of  the  State,  including  some  of  what  is  known  as  the  "  abandoned 
farm"  land  in  the  southern  part,  is  just  as  well  adapted  and  located  so 
far  as  soil,  climate  and  railroads  are  concerned,  for  the  production  of 
apples  as  are  Niagara,  Orleans,  Monroe  or  Wayne  Counties.  The  fact 
that  the  soils  of  the  cheap  hill  lands  are  well  adapted  to  potatoes  has 
been  brought  out  by  a  survey.  As  a  result  of  detailed  knowledge  of 
this  sort  gained  in  the  surveys,  the  College  is  recommending  and  en- 
couraging the  adoption  of  these  and  other  systems  of  farming  wherever 
conditions  are  favorable  and  where  they  will  pay  better  than  the  sys- 
tems previously  in  vogue. 

2.  They  supply  material  for  studies  of  farm  management.    They 
enable  the  College  to  determine  what  are  the  factors  conditioning  suc- 
cess or  failure. 

The  surveys  have  shown  a  striking  relationship  between  the  size  of 
farms  and  profits.  Contrary  to  the  old  impression  that  a  "little  farm 
well  tilled"  yielded  the  greatest  profits,  the  surveys  have  proved  con- 
clusively that  for  general  farming  in  the  regions  surveyed  the  largest 
farms  are  paying  best.  They  have  also  shown  that  in  spite  of  the  high 
wages  demanded  for  labor,  the  most  successful  farmers  hire  the  most 
help.  A  study  of  the  most  successful  farms  upsets  the  old  teaching  that 
dairy  farmers  should  raise  their  own  grain  and  that  they  cannot  afford 

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to  raise  their  own  stock.  These  most  successful  farmers  buy  the  most 
grain  and  raise  their  own  stock.  The  amount  of  capital,  machinery, 
and  the  number  of  horses,  all  have  a  direct  relationship  to  profits.  The 
surveys  show  why  some  farms  are  successful  and  why  others  are  not. 

3.  They  furnish  the  results  of  hundreds  of  experiments  more 
cheaply  than  the  College  can  conduct  one.  They  show  the  relative 
productiveness  of  the  various  types  of  soils,  the  efficiency  of  different 
rotation  systems,  the  comparative  production  of  different  breeds  of 
dairy  cattle,  the  effect  of  topography  on  crop  production,  and  many 
other  relationships,  not  in  one  instance  under  one  set  of  conditions  but 
on  hundreds  of  farms  and  under  a  great  variety  of  conditions. 

Soil  surveys. — The  intelligent  development  of  farm  land  must  take 
into  account  the  character  of  the  soil  and  is  determined  by  it.  The  soil 
survey,  by  determining  the  character  of  soils  and  their  relation  to 
crops  and  management  on  the  one  hand,  outlines  the  problems  confront- 
ing the  farmer,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  presents  them  to  the  Experiment 
Stations  for  their  solution  in  a  manner  which  makes  for  most  rapid 
progress.  With  the  large  number  of  farms  which  are  offered  for  sale  or 
exchange  in  New  York  State,  the  soil  survey  is  the  only  reliable  and 
thorough  method  by  which  the  true  values  of  such  farms  may  be  com- 
pared and  studied. 


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